When a pronoun comes after a preposition — for me, to you, without him, between us — Portuguese uses a special set of stressed pronouns called disjunctive or tonic pronouns. For the first and second persons these are not the subject forms you already know: it is mim (not eu) and ti (not tu). This page teaches the whole set, the iron rule para mim (never para eu), and the single grammatical exception that learners must understand precisely.
The disjunctive set
After any preposition (para, de, em, por, sem, sobre, entre, contra…), use these forms:
| Person | Subject form | After a preposition |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | eu | mim |
| 2nd sg. (tu) | tu | ti |
| 2nd sg. (você) | você | você |
| 3rd sg. | ele / ela | ele / ela |
| 3rd reflexive | — | si |
| 1st pl. | nós | nós |
| 2nd pl. | vocês | vocês |
| 3rd pl. | eles / elas | eles / elas |
The headline facts: only eu → mim and tu → ti actually change. Everything else (você, ele, ela, nós, vocês, eles, elas) keeps its ordinary form after a preposition. And there is a special reflexive form si, used when the prepositional pronoun refers back to the subject.
Esse presente é para mim?
Is this present for me? (para + mim, never 'para eu')
Ela não para de falar de ti.
She won't stop talking about you. (de + ti — 'tu' regions)
Vou sem você mesmo.
I'm going without you anyway. (sem + você — no special form)
Comprei isso por ele.
I bought this for him.
Why "para mim," never "para eu"
This is the rule that separates beginners from intermediate speakers. After a preposition, the pronoun is the object of that preposition, not the subject of a verb — and Portuguese marks that role with the tonic form mim. Using eu there is the equivalent of an English speaker saying "for I" instead of "for me." English speakers actually have a built-in advantage here: you already know it's "for me," not "for I." Trust that instinct — mim is the Portuguese "me."
Faz isso para mim?
Will you do this for me? (object of 'para' → mim)
Não tem nada de errado comigo... quer dizer, com você.
There's nothing wrong with me... I mean, with you.
Guarda um pedaço para mim.
Save a piece for me.
The Brazilian street pronunciation of para is usually pra, so you will hear and write pra mim constantly. It is the same rule: pra mim, never pra eu.
The one exception: para eu + infinitive
Here is where careful learners earn their keep. There is exactly one situation where eu correctly follows para: when eu is the subject of an infinitive verb that comes right after. The structure is para + [subject pronoun] + infinitive, meaning "for me to (do something)." In that frame, the pronoun is doing subject duty for the verb, so it takes the subject form eu, not mim.
Ela trouxe os documentos para eu assinar.
She brought the documents for me to sign. (eu = subject of 'assinar')
Isso é fácil demais para eu errar.
That's far too easy for me to get wrong.
Deixa um pouco para eu provar.
Leave a little for me to taste. (eu is the one who tastes → subject → eu)
Contrast the two patterns side by side. Para mim + nothing (or a noun): Compra um café para mim ("buy a coffee for me") — mim is just the recipient. Para eu + infinitive: Compra um café para eu beber ("buy a coffee for me to drink") — eu is the subject of beber. The test: is there a verb in the infinitive right after the pronoun, with that pronoun as its doer? If yes → eu. If no → mim.
This is genuinely one of the most common errors even among native Brazilians, who often say para mim fazer in casual speech. It is widely heard but considered nonstandard; in writing and careful speech, para eu fazer is correct.
"Entre mim e você" and the reflexive "si"
Two more points round out the topic. First, with entre ("between"), both pronouns take the tonic/object form: entre mim e você ("between me and you"), never entre eu e você.
Isso fica entre mim e você, combinado?
This stays between you and me, deal? (entre + mim, never 'eu')
Second, si is the reflexive disjunctive — used after a preposition when the pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence ("himself/herself/themselves"). In everyday Brazilian speech, people often replace it with ele mesmo / ela mesma, but si remains correct and common in fixed expressions.
Ele só pensa em si.
He only thinks about himself. (si = reflexive)
Ela trouxe o problema para si mesma.
She brought the problem on herself.
Common Mistakes
❌ Esse presente é para eu.
Incorrect — no infinitive follows, so it must be the tonic form 'mim'.
✅ Esse presente é para mim.
This present is for me.
❌ Ela trouxe os documentos para mim assinar.
Incorrect — 'mim' can't be the subject of the infinitive 'assinar'.
✅ Ela trouxe os documentos para eu assinar.
She brought the documents for me to sign.
❌ Entre eu e você não tem segredo.
Incorrect — after 'entre' use the tonic form 'mim'.
✅ Entre mim e você não tem segredo.
Between you and me there are no secrets.
❌ Ela falou de eu na reunião.
Incorrect — after 'de' the pronoun is 'mim'.
✅ Ela falou de mim na reunião.
She talked about me in the meeting.
❌ Pra mim entender melhor, repete.
Nonstandard (though common in casual speech) — 'eu' is the subject of 'entender'.
✅ Pra eu entender melhor, repete.
For me to understand better, say it again.
Key Takeaways
- After a preposition, use the tonic forms: mim (not eu) and ti (not tu); other pronouns are unchanged.
- The default is para mim / pra mim — never para eu — whenever no infinitive verb follows.
- The sole exception is para eu + infinitive, where eu is the subject of the verb: para eu fazer = "for me to do."
- entre mim e você (never entre eu); si is the reflexive form ("himself/herself").
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Comigo, Contigo, Conosco: 'With' FormsA2 — The fused com + pronoun forms — comigo, contigo, consigo, conosco — and why 'com mim' is always wrong but 'com você' is fine.
- Para Ele / Para Ela: Prepositional Indirect ObjectA2 — The dominant Brazilian way to express a recipient: 'para + tonic pronoun' (para mim, para você, para ele) — colloquially 'pra' — which sidesteps the fading clitic 'lhe'.
- Personal Pronouns After PrepositionsA2 — The tonic pronoun set used after prepositions — mim, ti, ele, nós — plus the special fusions comigo and contigo.
- Subject Pronouns in Brazilian PortugueseA1 — The full Brazilian Portuguese subject pronoun inventory — eu, tu, você, ele/ela, a gente, nós, vocês, eles/elas — how it differs from European Portuguese, and why Brazilians drop subject pronouns less than other Romance speakers.